Boy, 5, attacked by dingo on island camping ground airlifted after suffering bite marks all over body
FRASER ISLAND, AUSTRALIA: A dingo bit a five-year-old boy on his head, arms, and legs on K'gari, formerly Fraser Island, on Sunday afternoon, December 18 before his father could stop the attack and rescue him, said reports. After suffering from several bite marks, the boy was airlifted to Hervey Bay Hospital in a serious but stable condition by a rescue helicopter that landed on Orchid Beach.
The incident took place at the Ocean Lake campground located at the northern end of the island tourist hotspot. The boy’s parents reported to the ambulance crews about the dingo bite incident at 4.10 pm on Sunday. According to the Daily Mail, the RACQ LifeFlight reports that the boy was playing on a beach when the dingo jumped on him and attacked him leaving multiple bite marks on various parts of his body. His parents were reportedly not too far away. The boy’s father stopped the dingo attack and rescued the boy, reported The Guardian.
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"They don't appear to be overly serious, but they haven't provided a full report at this stage," A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said, as per the outlet.
K'gari is home to an estimated 200 dingoes and the latest attack took place at the popular tourist spot only weeks after Orchid Beach was fenced off to keep the feral dog breed out of the township, according to island residents. The camping ground where the dingo attack happened usually remains unfenced.
The Fraser Island dingoes are the purest blooded of Australia's dingoes and are a protected species on the island with significant protection laws. "Wildlife authorities recognize that Fraser Island dingoes may become the purest strain of dingo on the eastern Australian seaboard and perhaps Australia-wide," the Queensland Department of Environment and Science website states, as per the Daily Mail.
Dingoes attacks are quite common on the island since they are a curious native predator on the island. In the last 20 years, the popular tourist spot has experienced at least a dozen dingo attacks. A toddler was reportedly airlifted from the island after he was attacked by the high-risk dog breed that left a dozen wounds to his neck, shoulder, buttocks, and thigh. The two-year-old had strolled outside while his family was asleep.
In 2001, nine-year-old Clinton Gage from Sydney was attacked and killed by two dingoes near Waddy Point. His death prompted the culling of 31 dingoes and caused an outcry among residents. However, dingoes are no longer culled on the island and the dogs have now shifted away from tourism hotspots, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.